Spanish Fiestas

Discover the Real Spain

  • CITY GUIDES
    • Barcelona Guide
    • Madrid Guide
    • Seville Guide
    • More Cities
  • TOURISM
    • Getting Around
    • Regions of Spain
    • Top Attractions
    • Cruise Ports
  • HOLIDAYS
    • Mallorca
    • Costa del Sol
    • Costa Blanca
    • Tenerife
    • Benidorm
  • FESTIVALS
    • Pamplona Bullrun
    • Las Fallas
    • La Tomatina
    • All Festivals
  • RECIPES
    • Spanish Recipes
    • Paella Recipe
    • Tortilla Recipe
    • Wine Tours
  • SOCIETY
    • Spanish Culture
    • Learn Spanish
    • History of Spain
  • BLOG

Calamares a la Romana Recipe

Deep Fried Squid Rings

This popular dish is served all over Spain. It will probably have been on every menu you saw while on holiday there.

Calamares Ingredients

Serves 4 – 6

  • In Spain you can buy the fresh squid already cleaned and cut into rings. If you have this option available to you buy it this way as it is much easier than buying the full squid. You should probably buy about 450gg of these rings. If not buy 4 medium squids (about 18cm long in the body size)
  • 6 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
  • sunflower oil for deep frying
  • 2 lemons cut into wedges
  • salt and pepper

Cooking Method

Calamares a la Romana RecipeIf you are using whole squid start by cleaning it. Hold the body in one hand and the head in the other and gently pull them apart. Throw the entrails away. Pull out the spine which runs the length of the body and wash the squid well.

Cut the body into rings about 1.5-2cm wide. Slice the wings into strips and cut the tentacles from the head and discard the heads. Put the squid in a bowl with 4 lemon wedges – don’t squeeze the juice from the wedges – and leave to marinate in the fridge for 1 or 2 hours.

In a deep bowl combine the flour, salt and pepper. Don’t be tempted to leave the salt out as it is a very important ingredient. There won’t be much flavour without it. You could add 1 teaspoon of paprika if you would like a smoky taste but I don’t think it is really necessary. Leave this mixture to the side.

When you are ready to cook pour the sunflower oil into your deep fat fryer or a deep saucepan on a medium heat until it is smoking hot. It is very important that the oil is very, very hot. Dip the squid in the bowl of seasoned flour making sure they are coated thoroughly.

Once the oil is hot drop a large handful of squid into it and fry for about 1 minute until it is golden brown. Remove the squid from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Fry the remaining squid in the same way but make sure the oil is still very hot.

Be careful not to add too much of the squid to the fryer at one time as this will cause the oil to cool too much and the flour will absorb too much of the oil.

Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Reader Comments:

  1. Bill McConnell says

    April 11, 2013 at 11:38 am

    These recipes are superb! Fairly easy and delicious.

    Reply
    • Gerry Kerkhof says

      April 11, 2013 at 1:58 pm

      Thanks Bill

      Reply
  2. Ingrid says

    April 13, 2013 at 2:55 pm

    Hola! Classic recipe. Thru’ the years have done a twist on it. Get squid rings and mix with chopped cilantro and chopped garlic and some salt. Cover tightly and leave in fridge overnight if you wish. Then dip this “mess” of squid rings in salted flour and cook in your oil. Just a variation and it goes over big time with my guests every time. Ingrid

    Reply
    • Gerry Kerkhof says

      April 15, 2013 at 3:04 pm

      Nice one … sounds great

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Spanish Tapas Recipes
Spanish Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Spanish Wines

Penedès Vineyard
Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Penedes ... Discover the wonderful world of Spanish wines.
Spanish Wine Guide

Emilio's Paella Recipe

Paella Valenciana
Learn to cook a great paella as taught by Emilio from Bar Victoria in Miraflores de la Sierra.
Paella Recipe

Montse's Tortilla Recipe

Tortilla Recipe
Thanks to my friend Montse from Alcoi for teaching me how to cook the perfect tortilla.
Tortilla de Patatas Recipe

Copyright © 2019 Spanish Fiestas - All Rights Reserved - Privacy Policy

This Website Uses Cookies - Please Confirm That You're Okay With That OK Learn More
Privacy Policy

Necessary Always Enabled